Thousands gather to see a hair from the Prophet Muhammad's beard

Kashmiri Muslims watch as an unseen priest shows a relic believed to be a hair from the beard of Prophet Muhammad at the Hazratbal Shrine in Srinagar on Feb. 16, on the occasion of Eid-e-Milad-un-Nabi, the birthday of Prophet Muhammad. Thousands of Kashmiri Muslims gathered at the shrine in the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir to offer prayers on the Prophet's birth anniversary.

Tauseef Mustafa / AFP - Getty Images

Kashmiri Muslim women watch as an unseen priest shows a relic believed to be a hair from the beard of Prophet Muhammad.

Tauseef Mustafa / AFP - Getty Images

Kashmiri Muslim men watch as an unseen priest shows a relic believed to be a hair from the beard of Prophet Muhammad.

Tauseef Mustafa / AFP - Getty Images

Kashmiri Muslim women watch as an unseen priest shows a relic believed to be a hair from the beard of Prophet Muhammad.

Thousands of people braved the cold and inclement weather Wednesday to offer prayers at Kashmir Valley's holiest Muslim shrine of Hazratbal in summer capital Srinagar to celebrate the birthday of Prophet Muhammad.

Dressed in warm clothes, men, women and children converged at the shrine on the banks of the Dal Lake to have a glimpse of the Holy Relic (a hair of the Prophet's beard) after each namaz.

'I have come from Kokernag village in Anantnag district. I have been regularly visiting the shrine on this day, since the age of 10 with my father,' said Muhammad Rajab, 72, who offered prayers here.

'Today, I have brought my grandson and granddaughter to carry forward the family tradition,' he said.

Rajab said he prayed for peace as his grand children's future depends on continued peace and normalcy in the Valley.

'Unless there is peace, there would be no normalcy and unless there is normalcy my grandchildren cannot be educated properly. Thus, I prayed for peace, well-being and prosperity for my family in particular and the Muslim Umma in general,' he said.